Swimming as a bridge to social good

“It was magical”

Thinking back to a little over a year ago when we decided to brave The Strait of Gibraltar, the only way it made sense was to do it for something bigger than ourselves. I’m thrilled to report that last week the lives of students in Adeiso, Ghana changed forever– and we got to see how our swim and your donations made a huge difference. Thanks to the incredible generosity of family and friends all over the globe, we raised $107,461– enough money to send e-readers filled with tens of thousands of books to over 10 classrooms like the one in the photo. The Worldreader team sent us a report saying: “It was magical. The excitement towards the upcoming rollout had been more than palpable. Very simply, students couldn’t wait for their turn to finally receive e-readers! It was obvious, right away, that technical training for the class would be a breeze. Within minutes, kids were reading, learning new words with the dictionary and using the text-to-speech function.” Its remarkable in too many ways to write: how kids go from having no books– or reading the same few over and over– to any book they want to read. It’s a game changer. Again, huge thanks to everyone who donated and made this possible!

Using a map on the wall, the teacher described the swim which made it possible for devices to be brought to them. She told the students how Swim4Good made a goal for them– and how anything is possible and can be achieved if you’re persistent. Apparently the students loved the story– asking many questions about it.

We especially loved hearing about some of the individual reactions of the children. Thirteen year old Evans Agyra lives in Alafia and he bikes 30 minutes to come to school. He has 10 paper books at home and he has read them several times. Books are his favorite present. He loves the Ananse stories (local Ghanaian books) and is now reading many stories every day. When asked what he would ask a magician for he answered: “I would ask for knowledge.”

Thirteen year old Dennis Appaih only has 5 books at home and has read them time and again. He wants to be a doctor when he grows up. He loved the story of the swim and said: ‘Thank you for swimming to get me an e-reader’. Ok, that is the cutest thing I’ve ever heard. I’d do it again and again for more kids like these.

On behalf of Swim4Good and the children who are now reading like mad, THANK YOU for making this a reality!